James Brown Marston, a little-known artist from Salem, Massachusetts, portrayed the eastward side of the State House and the open square around it with amazing accuracy and detail. He shows us that by 1801 the site of the 1770 "Boston Massacre" (on what was then called King Street) and the 1776 public reading of the Declaration of Independence was still a bustling social and commercial center. His painting is populated by men, women, and animals who demonstrate the daily life of Bostonians two centuries ago.

Please note that this painting was previously called, "Old State House."